Throughout time, information was most commonly printed on, published and disseminated via paper based media, such as paper, newspapers, magazines, flyers, postcards, letters, etc. That information would then be disseminated for public consumption. In a typical example, a flyer could be produced containing information relating to a band performance at the local civic auditorium. As the flyer announcing the concert date gets handed around by promoters, eventually one particular flyer would reach an interested party, a fan. That fan could then try to get additional friends to attend the band concert using the same flyer by writing a hand written note on the flyer expressing enthusiasm for attending the concert and passing that note to a friend. That is, the flyer would be marked up with personal information and then passed along.
More particularly, using a paper based media platforms, it was a simple matter for a reader to add notes by hand to that piece of paper using any marking implement (e.g., pen, pencil, etc.). Those notes could express the writer's opinions, desires, reflections, appreciations, etc. Importantly, the piece of paper conveyed two pieces of information, including underlying concert information, and a personal note expressing interest in attending the concert.
Taking the simple action of writing a note on a flyer, personal information relating to two or more individuals could be expressed and passed between those individuals. That is, the hand written note could then be shared with others (e.g., family members, friends, colleagues, etc.) by handing that marked-up paper to the intended recipient.
Fast forward to today's multi-media information market, where content publication is distributed through many electronic platforms. For instance, information could be distributed through web-server means (e.g., through the internet), or through other communication networks (e.g., through smartphones). A user would view that information through some electronic display (e.g., computer, smartphone, etc.).
However, with modern distribution of information through electronic media, a user's ability to add personal information to that electronic content is difficult. For instance, projecting personal expressions of a viewer about a piece of content without reverting back to traditional methods is cumbersome. While basic, the traditional method (e.g., including printing out a piece of content, adding personal written information to that printed content, and then passing it to a friend) is limited in application, as it takes time to distribute, cannot be easily extended beyond some limited physical range without involving elaborate distribution methods (e.g., postal mail), and is directed to a single individual.
In another application that reaches more towards modern technology, a user may copy a link to the electronic content and put it into an email, wherein the email contains a personal message relating to the content. This approach however still does not reach far enough, as the personal note is disassociated with the underlying web content. That is, the personal note is contained in the email, which is displayed separately from the underlying web content.
It would be beneficial to provide direct markup of electronic content and sharing of that marked up content with others.